Would diminish accountability, benefit only charter operators

Published on Wednesday, October 5, 2016

At its regularly scheduled meeting today, the State Board of Education took a first look at the new charter school regulations proposed by Governor Christie.

The proposed regulations are disconnected from best practices and diminish the teaching profession. NJEA does not support these proposed changes. “There can be no doubt that these amendments are designed for one purpose and one purpose only — to sell out New Jersey’s public education system to for-profit, corporate charter school operators in the closing year of the Christie administration in order to put traditional public schools at a competitive disadvantage for years to come,” said NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer. “The Christie administration seems intent on creating two sets of rules for two separate school systems. We believe that every public school and every public school district should be held to the same high standards.”

NJEA supported the original 1995 law that authorized public charter schools in New Jersey. NJEA’s policy on charter schools says, in part, that “NJEA supports high quality public charter schools as one component of an innovative, progressive system of public education,” and that “public charter schools, along with magnet schools, vocational schools and traditional public schools can all play an important role as laboratories for innovation and provide a broad array of choices for parents.”

NJEA has been clear on its support of public charter schools for years, as long as certain criteria were met. NJEA has supported legislation to ensure that public charter schools are subject to the same accountability and safety standards as traditional public schools in order to better protect both students and staff in those schools. NJEA has also advocated for legislation to prevent profiteering on public charter schools so that student learning, and not corporate profits, will remain the most important priority.

According to Steinhauer, there are a number of problems with the proposed regulations, leading to NJEA’s strong opposition.

Educators Not Consulted

NJEA was not consulted on the proposed changes. In fact, in the opening summary it very clearly states that Governor Christie met with state and national charter school operators and that these changes reflect their ideas:

“Governor Christie met with State and national charter operators to discuss the state of public charter schools in New Jersey. During this discussion, many charter operators explained that New Jersey’s regulatory environment is a major impediment to growth of the charter sector in the State.”

This disregard for the input of professional, practicing educators is typical of the Christie administration’s misguided and harmful approach to education policy making. Allowing charter school operators to rewrite the rules to reduce their own accountability is irresponsible and indefensible.

Violates Current Law

The proposals represent a complete contradiction to the current law. Multiple violations of the existing charter law are written into the proposed regulations. NJEA is looking into legal options to prevent the Department of Education from circumventing the law through reckless changes to charter school regulations. The legislative process provides for an override when a proposal violates the legislative intent, embodied in the underlying statutes.

Lower Standards

One proposal for a pilot certification program for charter school teachers, principals and business administrators suggests that the charter school can now certify employees based on a loose set of criteria, thereby opening the floodgates for unprepared and unqualified individuals to work in publicly funded charter schools. At the same time the State Board of Education is insisting that new teachers need to pass edTPA, a high-stakes student teacher performance assessment. The DOE is proposing to create a pilot for charter schools that would eviscerate the high standards New Jersey requires to become a teacher. That pilot would allow charter schools to substitute their judgment, and possibly their economic interests, when deciding who should be allowed to teach in their schools. Corporate charter school operators should not be allowed to degrade the standards New Jersey expects of its teachers simply because the governor believes they deserve lower standards.

Less Fiscal Accountability

Many of the financial changes in the proposed regulations loosen the already diminished requirements for fiscal accountability. One of the changes allows for charter schools to analyze a public school district’s assets, including properties, and renovate or expand a vacant school at the host district’s expense. In addition, the proposed changes would allow charter schools to create preschool programs, whereas some public school districts, which have 40% or more students considered at risk, do not get funding for preschool programs. The addition of preschool programs shouldn’t be limited to charter schools. The Christie administration has refused to fund the preschool expansion called for in the school funding formula. It is unconscionable that the administration would make local districts pay for charter preschool programs in the district when it won’t even fund those programs for all students in eligible districts. It is a transparent attempt to give charter operators a competitive advantage over district schools and to shift more and more public resources to corporate charter school operators.

Segregates Students

The proposed regulations also remove the limitations on homeschooling by lifting the requirement that students can be homeschooled only for reasons of illness or injury, thereby allowing students to be homeschooled for any reason. Charter school students are also allowed, in the proposed regulations, to attend extracurricular and sports programs at the host public school district at no cost to the charter school, which means that the host school picks up all of the costs and liabilities of having the charter students engage in after-school activities. As if those changes were not bad enough, several of the proposals violate New Jersey’s anti-discrimination laws, by allowing charter schools to have weighted lotteries or single-purpose charter schools.

NJEA represents over 200,000 members, including over 1,000 public charter school members.

Meet your local, county and state leaders

Published on Wednesday, August 3, 2016

What’s the right place to meet and greet and start the year off right? At NJEA’s County Fall Focus meetings, members are able to meet their local, county and state association leaders and learn about important issues facing public school employees.

The list of Fall Focus dates and locations can be found below. To attend, see your local association building representative or register here.

Published on Monday, August 8, 2016

Hundreds of NJEA members gathered at the Statehouse today, the last day for Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, to keep his promise to post and pass SCR-2. That is the resolution that would put a constitutional amendment to mandate responsible pension funding on the ballot this November.

The protest, organized by NJEA’s Summer Fellows, sent a clear message to the New Jersey Senate: Post the bill! Pass the bill!

NJEA Vice President Marie Blistan led off the rally with a direct challenge to Sweeney to keep his promise and pass the bill.

“8-8-16! The day that Sen. Steve Sweeney will define, once and for all, his true character, his moral substance, his integrity—or it will define his failed leadership,” Blistan declared.

NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer reminded the crowd that NJEA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) has decided to get involved in primary elections next June, saying that if the current leaders won’t lead, we will find some who will. He told the crowd that it’s good to “remember in November,” but that our message now is that “judgment is coming soon, when we vote next June.”

NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Sean Spiller acknowledged that Sweeney might not like some of what has been said about him this week, but that there’s an easy solution. “Show us your answer by doing two simple things: Post the bill! Pass the bill!”

Many other NJEA leaders and members spoke out as well. Hunterdon County Education Association Vice President Marie Corfield, Trenton Education Association President Naomi Johnson-Lafleur, East Orange Education Association Vice President Brian Rock and Monroe Township Education Association member Pat Comey all fired up the crowd with demands that Sweeney keep his word and post the bill.

NJEA didn’t stand alone. Hetty Rosenstein, state director of the Communication Workers of America (CWA), stood in solidarity, reminding the crowd that we don’t just stand for our members, but for the 99 percent who demand an economic system that doesn’t give all the benefit to the 1 percent. CWA represents state and county public employees in New Jersey.

Assemblyman Dan Benson, D-Mercer, also stood to speak and called on his Senate colleagues to follow the lead of the Assembly and put the amendment on the ballot.

While Sweeney seems determined to break his word, NJEA made it clear one more time that broken promises carry consequences.

Published on Saturday, August 6, 2016

The New Jersey Education Association’s 125-member political action committee has voted to recommend to the National Education Association’s (NEA) Fund for Children and Public Education the endorsements of 11 candidates for election to the U.S. Congress, including three Republicans and eight Democrats. The endorsements in congressional districts three, four, five, and seven join those that had previously been approved in April.

“Secretary Clinton has a proven track record of leadership on education,” said NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer. “We are at a critical moment for public education and the choice could not be more clear: we need Hillary Clinton to ensure that the future of public education in this country is focused on the needs of our students and not on the needs of corporate profiteers.”

Finally, NJEA PAC voted to initiate screening candidates for endorsement in the 2017 gubernatorial and legislative primary elections. Screening of candidates does not indicate that an endorsement in the primary will definitely be made.

“NJEA members and their families are committed to supporting candidates who recognize the national benefits of a quality system of public education and who respect and support the work of public school employees,” said NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer. “We are proud to endorse these candidates on the basis of their commitment to public education and New Jersey families.”

NJEA PAC votes on the recommendations of local interview teams of members from each congressional district.

Senate President Steve Sweeney promised NJEA members that he would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot THIS YEAR that would allow voters to demand responsible pension funding by the state. Now, he is threatening to break that promise. He refuses to post the bill and has told reporters, “there’s always next year.

NJEA: Sweeney betrays public employees, taxpayers

Published on Thursday, August 4, 2016

NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer issued this statement following the press conference in which Senate President Steve Sweeney announced that he intends to break his promise to post and pass SCR-2, a resolution that would place a constitutional amendment on pension funding on the 2016 ballot:

“Senate President Steve Sweeney has betrayed every New Jersey public employee. His excuses, rationalizations and shifting positions don’t change the fundamental fact that he lied. He made a promise and now he says he is going to break his promise. Like Governor Christie, who promised that nothing would change about pensions if he was elected, Sen. Sweeney will say what he has to at any given moment to get support. And, like Gov. Christie, he is just as willing to break his promises.

“But Sen. Sweeney didn’t just break his promise to public employees. He also broke his promise to New Jersey voters and taxpayers. He promised to put an amendment on the ballot this year that would finally allow voters to take this issue out of the hands of unreliable politicians like Steve Sweeney and Chris Christie. By breaking that promise, he has raised the cost of fixing the problem. That hurts every taxpayer. Until New Jersey elects leaders with vision and integrity, the state remains in danger. That is why we will seek out and support honest leaders who are willing and able to solve difficult problems.

“Despite Steve Sweeney’s betrayal, we remain committed to a responsible, sustainable and timely solution to the pension crisis the state has created.

“Steve Sweeney isn’t the first dishonest politician to betray the people of New Jersey and he probably won’t be the last. But we will never stop advocating for our members, our students and a better future for New Jersey.”